Children of the Dawn
by Piccolo's Love Slave
Summary: The Sequal ~ Changing Seasons ~ Piccolo and Alaura still together dispite the events of the past story, but they're passion for each other has faded somewhat. Alaura has given birth to twin girls whose own special gifts are yet to be revealed...
1. Esera and Arese

Alaura Flaxen sat propped up by an assortment of pillows in the queen-sized bed she shared with her mate, Piccolo, gazing down with wonder and love at the tiny little being suckling at her nipple, a little fist pressing against her breast, causing the milk to flow more swiftly into the child's waiting mouth.  
  
She stroked the infant's sweetly soft cheek with the back of one finger, marveling, as she'd done when her oldest daughter, Neko, was a baby, at just how beautiful and perfect this little daughter of her's was.  
  
She'd just arrived home from the hospital a little less than three weeks ago and spent all of her waking hours devoted to the new mother she'd recently become. She knew, being a mother was one duty she'd never grow weary of.  
  
Not as long as their was breath in her body. As she nursed her daughter, Eresa, she knew that she was created to be a mother above any and all things. That realization, which came to her when she'd held her firstborn, Neko, in her arms when she'd been a little baby, sat comfortably at the back of mind.  
  
She smoothed her hand over the child's hair, dark, nearly blackish brown like her father's, sticking up on her head in fuzzy tufts, and smiled as the baby gazed back at her as she suckled with large dark eyes that seemed filled to the brim with an intelligence far beyond her years.  
  
Alaura did not doubt for a moment that had she been able to speak, her daughter would have spouted exactly what she was feeling and what her opinions were on this or that. She knew, deep down from the moment she first laid eyes on her, and even before, when she'd been growing to fruition within her womb, that this particular child would never be wishy- washy.  
  
She felt the change in the air currents and as suddden as there was emptiness before her only moments ago, her heart's desire appeared and filled that emptiness, carrying a still bundle wrapped snugly within his billowing white cape. He looked at her over the dozing infant at her breast and did not smile. He rarely smiled anymore, Alaura knew.  
  
Though he had long forgiven her, for he realized that she meant more to him than he'd ever have thought possibe and that he'd rather die than live without her, Alaura knew that it was still hard for him to look at this particular child of their's without seeing her true sire within her features and remembering her betrayal of his faith and love that one night she'd fallen prey to her own lonliness and need of comfort while he'd been awhile on a mission with their daughter, Neko.  
  
(A/N: Read "Changing Seasons" if you want to know more about Alaura's betrayal.)  
  
However, she knew he would stay with her if only for the children he considered his own as well as her's, no matter that no blood of his coursed through their viens. Neko, in college now and studying to be a doctor whose specialization was the care and wellfare of children, was the only child they'd planned and asked a friend of their's for help to conceive.  
  
The only child, really, that had not been, for lack of a more sensitive word, an accident. Alaura knew that Piccolo would not abandon them to spite their mother, even if he did not still love her.  
  
"Is Eresa finished eating yet?" He asked, towering over her as he always did when he refused to sit down and forced her look up at him, "Asere is hungry, she was making gurgling noises at me and trying to eat my cape."  
  
"Just a minute," Alaura said, slipping her finger between the baby's mouth and her breast, gently breaking the contact. She passed the now dozing infant over to him and he slipped her twin sister into her arms. After she arranged herself so that Asere would be nursing from the opposite breast as her sister, to let her used breast recover before the next feeding rolled around, she said; "She needs to be burped, then you can put her in the bassinette for a bit."  
  
He nodded as the baby curled up against his chest, waving her little hands and feet in the air before grabbing a fistful of his white cloak and drawing the material to her mouth, gumming on it contently. Alaura glanced up as she coaxed her nipple into Asere's mouth and helped the baby to latch onto her flesh to achieve the suction she needed to gain her nouishment, to see Piccolo smile softly at the little one he held in his arms as wriggled and waited to be relieved of the gas build up inside her tender belly from her meal of warm breast milk.  
  
Yes, Alaura was glad he did not blame the children for what had been her own folly.  
  
"Hey, little one," She whispered at the daughter who'd been blessed with her light hair, the color of new-mown wheat which was merely a fuzz about her head at this time, and the sweet azure eyes so matched her own that she felt no one would ever be able to miss the fact that she was her own!  
  
Even the shape of her lips and the smallness of her nose matched her own features. "Hungry, weren't you? What were you and Daddy doing outside, huh? Was he showing you how the forest looks from way up in the sky, huh? Bet you liked that, didn't you?"  
  
It was no great surprise that Piccolo doted on Asere. She halfway wondered if it were due to the fact that she looked more like her, Alaura, than like Gohan, her real father, than Eresa looked. Not that he loved the girls any differently, she knew that he loved them equally but, sometimes, if he realized it or not, he had a tendency to treat Asere with a little more patience that Eresa and spend more time with Asere than he did with Eresa.  
  
Asere slammed her fist against her breast and she winced. For a newborn, she was awefully strong. In fact, both the twins were unbelievably powerful. That was something they'd inherited from their real father, that, she moved the blanket away a bit, exposing the long, flexible prehensile tail covered in dark fur that both infants had been born with, and their tails. Neko, herself had been born with a tail and had kept it all though high school with little to no problem.  
  
After she'd started dating in her sophmore year in college, however, and judging herself by how she looked reflected in the eyes of her peers, she'd started to complain to Alaura about it every tme she came home on weekends and holidays and how much she wanted to have it removed so that she could be normal and find a boyfriend, finally. She still practiced martial arts, though not as much and not as seriously as she had when she'd been younger, after her childhood friend, Mira, had been killed.  
  
Alaura had always thought her firstborn's tail was a beautiful part of her and thought that cutting it off in a surgery where it would not grow back was, to her, akin to slicing off an arm or a leg. But she also did not like seeing her child shunned by men who would easily have found her very attractive if only she didn't have such a freakish extremity. She wanted her daughter to be happy she she'd given her premission and the money to pay for the operation that would remove Neko's tail once and for all.  
  
"Did she hurt you?" Piccolo asked, leaning over as he sat on the side of the bed, Eresa held upon his knee as he burped her gently and with remembered skill, she was, after all, not his first infant, "Looks like a bruise."  
  
"She'd really strong for a baby!" Alaura agreed, feeling around the tender area of her breast where the infant had punched her in her desire and inpatience for more milk, "Neko was hearty too, I remember some of the bruises she gave me when she was a toddler and I was giving her a bath!"  
  
"She would have made a great fighter." He trailed off. She knew he was still hurt, however he tried to hide it, that Neko, the daughter who had been his pride and joy as child and young adult, trained by him and loved as a father would love any daughter who made him proud, had decided not to persue her martial arts training as feirce as she had in the past. It was almost as if he felt that, Neko herself, had also betrayed him, in a way different than Alaura had, of course, but a betrayal was a betrayal.  
  
Now, he looked to his new charges with the hope in his ebony eyes that had once burned there for Neko, for the potential he had tried to help her attain. He looked at dark haired and eyed Eresa and blonde, lighter hued Asere and added; "These two are going to be amazing warriors."  
  
"Well, for now," Alaura said, scooting down on the bed to hand a sleepy Asere over to him and take Eresa into her arms once more, standing up and carrying her to the crib, "They only they're gonna be fighting is the sandman and I can tell you right now, he's gonna win."  
  
He burped Asere and carried her over to the crib to carefully lay her down next to her twin. Both he and Alaura smiled down at the infants as they instinctivly cuddled closer to each other as they had in the womb. Before she could say anything to him, he placed two fingers to his brow, just beneath the edge of the weighted white turban he always wore, and blinked out of sight. She sighed and turned around, walking slowly back to the bed and crawling under the covers.  
  
The light from the afternoon sun blocked by the heavy drapes and blindes she always had up on all the windows due to her sensitive eyes and the overhead light hooked up to a dimmer switch turned down to as low as possible without having the room in complete darkness, Alaura pulled the covers over her head and tried to gain a little sleep while the babies rested before it was time to change and feed them once more. 


	2. Surprises!

The twins were five months old before Alaura began to realize that there was something extra special about them. It was not merely the fact that they were part saiyan or even that they were twins, however unidentical, it was something more, something subtle at first but which grew until she could ingore it no longer. Piccolo, however, had felt the infants' growing inner strength for far longer than his mate had, though he'd kept his feelings to himself.  
  
Tae was visiting, on vacation from his dance troupe who were taking a breather so everyone could touch base with their families and loved ones before the start of the summer season which would go for another six months as they toured Japan and part of the U.S. Tae had grown into a very handsome namekian with a gracefulness that belied the strength of his limbs, made muscular through constant dedication to his choicen path, the classical dance.  
  
Alaura was very proud of his achievements and thought, not for the first time, that he hardly resembled outwardly the determined little child who'd come as a student to her dance class years before, before she'd given up teaching to the raising of her family instead. She thought of Tae, whose other natural gift was that of healing and his gentleness fit that part of him perfectly, he had a hard time keeping himself from helping a being in pain, as her son and Neko had called him her "Big Brother" ever since she could talk.  
  
They were outside in the grass, Alaura wore her dark glasses and a hat with a wide brim to sheild her eyes from the brightness of the mid-morning sun. Tae had helped her spread a blanket out upon the grass and she held Asere in her lap as Eresa sat and pulled handfuls of grass up from the ground and scattered dirt and grass all over herself and her area of the blanket. Tae said across from her, the two babies between them. Piccolo floated in the air above and a bit to the side of them, half in meditation, half in watch over them.  
  
Alaura and Tae's conversation became involved and she set Asere down on the blanket to momentarily shove her hair, which had grown past her shoulders again, behind one ear. All at once, Tae's ears pricked and he stiffened, she could tell by his posture that he had heard something her own, dull human ears could not have picked up.  
  
Piccolo's eyes were open and he stood up in mid-air from his mediation pose, all alert and focused. Alaura reflectively reached for her children and felt the blood flowing through her viens turn into ice water as she realized only Eresa was accounted for. She was still digging smalls holes in the lawn, making little happy gurgling sounds in her throat.  
  
"Where's Asere?!" She cried, looking around frantically for the baby, who could all ready crawl at a pretty swift pace once she could going, tears flowed from Alaura's eyes as her mind played on all the horrible things that could befall a helpless child alone in the wilderness which surrounded their house on all sides, "Asere!" She cried, running around in cirlces, calling and searching for the little one, "Asere, where are you?!"  
  
"Piccolo!" Tae called up to the older namekian who'd helped rear him after they'd taken him in years ago, "Do you hear them?"  
  
Piccolo nodded, struggling to sort out his daughter's ki from everyone else's around him, to pin-point the subtle star of energy that was like her signature identification for him. He found it, and focused in on it's location, not liking where it led at all.  
  
He could see her now, in his mind's eye, sitting surrounded by trees in the shade of the forest, not too far into it, but she wasn't alone. Warm fur- bounded, sharp-nosed creatures whose hearing was nearly equal to that of a namekian crowded in on her from all sides. Piccolo could smell and feel them through his daughter's senses as if they were his own.  
  
"Yes," He said, "The wolves have her surrounded."  
  
"Wolves?!" Alaura cried, holding Eresa tight, the little girl starting to feel uncomfortable in the midst of her mother's fear and began to whimper, "Piccolo! Don't let them hurt my baby!"  
  
"Hush, woman!" Piccolo snapped, hating her hysterics, even if she really did have an honest reason to become hysterical, "They're aren't hurting her. They seem to be.treating her as one of their own pups."  
  
"She's not a wolf pup!" Alaura fairly screamed, Poor Eresa began to wail and both Tae and Piccolo covered their ears at the peircing sound, "She's my daughter! Go get her away from them! Please!"  
  
Piccolo ignored her and flew to where he knew the infant would be. He saw that the animals were too close to her to send a ki blast at without harming the baby as well, and honestly, he really had no desire to hurt creatures who hadn't tried to harm him or his family first. So far, they hadn't tried to hurt either him or Asere, only licked the infant across her face a few times and nudged her with their noses.  
  
Asere giggled and patted one grizzled grey's scar-mottled muzzle. Piccolo watched as she looked into the wolf's yellow blazing eyes and the wolf turned away from her, flashing the bit of white from his throat at her as he did so. Did he just see a full-grown battle-and-hunt scarred canis lupis flash submissive to a five month old infant?! Impossible! The gasping noise he'd made in shock at what he was witnessing drew her attention and the wolves.  
  
Just as Piccolo was trying to figure out a way he could get to her without upsetting the very unperdictable wolf pack, the leader, a still young alpha female whod'd obviously just taken over the pack not too long ago, raised her muzzle to the sky and gave a short barking howl. She lopped off, followed by her pack, and slide like oil through the shadows of the trees.  
  
He was bending down to pick her up from the ground in an instant, holding her close, his own heart pounding with fear for how close he'd come to losing her! She wriggled in his grip and pointed a chubby finger in the direction of the trees, "Woofs!" and giggled, as he carried her into the air and back to her frantic mother and sniffling sister.  
  
"Asere!" Alaura cried out, tears glistening down her cheeks where they'd fallen from her eyes, taking her from Piccolo and cuddling her close with her twin. She buried her face into the baby's thick golden locks. She looked up at Piccolo and her eyes asked a silent question. He looked at the back of their daughter's head and a worried expression passed over his handsome features.  
  
"I can't help but think that she called them to her," He said in a low voice, "That she called them to particular spot where she could find them."  
  
"But why?" She asked, "She's just a baby! She could have been hurt!"  
  
"Maybe she just wanted to play with them," He said, "She called them 'Woofs', isn't that the name she gave to the picture book you read to her and Eresa? The one about the german shepards? Perhaps she just wanted to play with some dogs and they looked like dogs to her.They didn't hurt her, they.seemed to accept her."  
  
"Piccolo, if what your thinking is true," She said, "What if she'd called them to her when it was just me and Eresa! You said that they seemed to accept her, but what if they did not do the same for me or her sister? We could have been torn to bits!"  
  
"I always had a feeling there was more to them than meets the eye," He said, by way of answering her fear, "We'll just have to watch Asere and what she does even harder than before. This could, however, be just a one- time thing, a fluke of nature that we don't have to worry about repeating." Even as he said so, Piccolo did not believe his own words and looking over his daughter's heads, one dark and one light, into their mother's blue eyes told him she didn't either.  
  
Alaura murmered something about getting the girls some lunch and she handed Eresa over to Tae. He followed her back to the house after sharing a glance with Piccolo. As he followed behind Alaura, he felt something furry rub up against his leg as he walked, and nearly trip him as it darted inbetween his feet. His natural dancer's sence of balance kept him from going sprawling. He paused and bent down to pick the creature up.  
  
The dark furred creature squeaked and looked at him with large, unblinking liquidy black eyes. It was long and seemingly boneless with a long fluffy tail, powerful hind legs that he assumed were used for gaining speed while running and dainty front paws that were good at gripping things, he noticed as it grabbed at his annetae playfully, batting one with a paw.  
  
Eresa giggled as the creature's tail flicked across her face. It's large, rounded ears flicked back and forth as it listened to sounds too far away for either human or namekian to pick up, it's little dark nose twitched and his whiskers moved as it tasted the breeze around them.  
  
Then, suddenly, it scrambed over Tae's shoulder and raced, quick as spit, up Alaura's back and over her shoulder, squeezing head-first inbetween the area between Alaura and Asere, popping it's head up just under the child's chin and licking her on the nose making Asere giggle. Alaura gasped and nearly dropped both child and animal and looked down at it.  
  
After a few tense moments when she realized that the small animal was not being hostile towards either herself or her child, a flicker of a smile quirked the corners of her mouth as she watched her daugher's eyes sparkle as she petted the little beast.  
  
"Well, isn't this interesting," She murmered, "First the wolves and now this.I wonder." 


	3. Awoken Powers

The twins were curled up together in their playpen, fast asleep surrounded by various stuffed animals and toys. Most of which were chewed on or torn up due to their inhuman strength from their saiyan side. Alaura always made sure to pick them up new toys when she went shopping or, once in a while, she could persaude Piccolo to materize a new teddy bear or plastic doll for them.  
  
The little creature, which had attached itself to Asere only left the child's side to drink a saucer of warm milk Alaura had poured for it upon arriving back at the house, was sleeping soundly cuddled up inbetween the girls as if it had always done so.  
  
After feeding the girls their lunch, Tae had taken them into the livingroom and put them into their playpen so they could play with their toys before naptime. They'd fallen asleep almost immediately after they'd been set down within the pen.  
  
Piccolo was still outside mediating or training. Alaura wasn't quite sure exactly what and Tae was busy in the studio she had just started to use again to go through her old dance routines in order to work the weight off she'd gained with the twins, training in his own way.  
  
"Just because I'm off-season is not reason for me to become lax in my dancing, Mom." He said to her and she'd felt her heart swell with pride. It was the attitude she'd struggled to instill in all her students when they came to her for instruction on the dance.  
  
Alaura sat on a chair with a paperback open in her lap, the faint light from a candle lit on the table next to the chair gave her enough light by which to read but she realized after scanning the same sentence five times and still not registering it that her mind was elsewhere.  
  
The house was quiet in the afternoon save for the steady sound of her daughters' breathing in sleep and the fast short bursts of breathing from their new 'pet', for by unspoken accord they'd all agreed the little creature would stay, and a dripping noise from one of the pipes.  
  
She found herself thinking about Gohan. She had not seen him since she'd left 18 and Krillin's house after being caught with him in bed by not only 18 and Krillin, but by his own girlfriend, Videl, as well.  
  
Every time she thought about that night, she wanted to crawl away and die, for she not only hurt herself, but she'd caused Piccolo, the one person she loved with all her heart and who had trusted and loved her only to have been so betrayed in such a way, to lose the best friend he'd ever had.  
  
She knew that things would never be the same between him and Gohan. There was no way Piccolo would be able to pick up the trust and admiration he used to have for his old student as if nothing had ever occurred. And she knew that Gohan would never be comfortable in old teacher's presence.  
  
She felt horrible that she had come between them in such a way and that she blamed only herself even though she knew, deep down, that he could have choosen not to sleep with her . However, she also did not want the girls to grow up without at least knowing their real father.  
  
She did not want to take away from Piccolo the title and duties of being their father, so she would have had them call Gohan their 'Uncle' as their older sister, Neko, used to before the truth were revealed to her about who he really was to her. Gohan had been appoached by her self and Piccolo to help in the creation of their firstborn, so there was no deception there.  
  
But, Gohan had not once come to see these new children he had helped create and Alaura felt sad that they would not know him growing up as Neko had. That was, unless she could convince both him and Piccolo to leave the past behind and become friends once more.  
  
She shook her head. She knew such foolishness would never work. There was no one more stubborn than her husband, (having been together for so long, although never having gone through the ceremonies, by common law she and Piccolo were husband and wife), and she was afraid to ask him about how he felt about Gohan coming around to see the girls lest his mind all ready be set against it.  
  
So deep into her own thought were she that she failed to notice one of her daughters had awoken from her nap and now lay quietly in the playpen, her sister and their new pet curled against her. Eresa wriggled about until she had sat up. She looked around and was about to cry out to be picked up when her eyes alighted on the platter of cookies Alaura had baked earlier while Tae had watched the girls for her.  
  
All her baby mind could conceive of at this point was that she saw some cookies and that she wanted one. She did not care how that came about. She held out her small, pudgy hand in the direction of the platter, which was across the room on table, which could be seen past the archway that seperated the livingroom from the kitchen, and began to reach. At this point Alaura looked up and gasped.  
  
There were cookies, chocolate chip and ginger snaps, floating in the air all around the playpen! She saw Eresa reach up and take one as it floated close to her and bit into it, happily. The other cookies continued to float around her until she laughed and they all came falling onto her sleeping sister who woke up with a scream after being beaned in the head by a falling pastry!  
  
Alaura could only sit there, her book having slipped from her fingers to the floor at her feet, and stare as she saw her daughters munching cookies happily while several of the toys which had been laying around within and outside the playpen begin to float up into the air and circle around the twins, who both laughed at this new game that Eresa had just made up. The little animal, which no one knew exactly what it was, (It looked like a cross between a cat and a furry snake), would leap into the air after a toy and twist it's body as if it had no bones in mid-air after grabbing onto the plaything with both front paws and bearing it to the floor of the playpen. The girls laughed harder when the little creature did this and Eresa waved her little hands to made something else fly up into the air to float near the beast's nose.  
  
What was happening? Alaura wondered as she hasted over to the playpen and picked Eresa up, after which everything fell to the ground as the child's attention was jerked suddenly from them to her mother, and positioned her on her hip before lifting her twin up as well. Their diminutive friend scrambed gracefully out of the playpen and stood near Alaura's leg, gazing up at Asere, who was waving down at it from her place upon her mother's hip.  
  
Alaura stood there holding her children for a moment, wondering what, exactly, she should do. She should go talk to Piccolo about this, that's what she should do! She nodded to herself, feeling shaken after such an odd occurance and carried the girls outside to find her husband. As she walked outside she was thankful the sun had all ready begun to set and the light did not hurt her eyes.  
  
She followed a well-used path through the forest outside their house to the area she knew Piccolo would be, for it was a peaceful spot he came often to meditate and she'd made use of the area on occasion as a pic-nic spot.  
  
As they walked she began to notice that several small forest-bred creatures, such as squirrels and chipmunks, rabbits and small fluttering songbirds, who had not yet retreated into their nests and burrows for the night, began to follow and hop and scitter about their feet. Alaura had never seen anything like it and she quickened her step, afraid of those wolves from earlier coming upon them.  
  
Eresa waved her hands in the air and a little squirrel floated up to her. She reached out to pet the little animal, whose fur looked soft and warm, and Alaura, reacting out of motherly instinct, batted the creature away from her.  
  
Startled, Eresa watched as the creature fell to the ground, stunned and then stood up and shook it's self all over to get over the experience. Alaura was thankful it hadn't bitten her! It might have had rabies! She began to run, the children bouncing upon her hips, the fear of what was happening to her children making it hard for her to breath and her heart to beat faster. 


	4. Twins Are Hard Work!

"Yes, I can sense that their ki's extremely high for being so young," Piccolo said as he took the twins from their mother and examined them closely. Eresa giggled and grabbed at one of his annatae while Asere, the more reserved twin just watched her green-skinned father-figure with wide open blue eyes. Her furry little friend had made an impressive leapt from the forest floor to Piccolo's shoulder and was currently gazing down with apt adoration at Asere, who reached a small pudgy hand to pat it clumsily on the head. It made a sort of purring sound and Asere smiled. "Asere seems to have a sort of rapport with animals," Alaura said, sitting down on a nearby rock, crossing her arms beneath her breasts, "And I swear I saw Eresa move things without touching them!" "Their power will be difficult to rein in," He said, "I fear raising these two will be more than taxing for you, Alaura, they've got saiyan blood." "What do you mean, taxing, Piccolo?" She asked, "I've raised a part-saiyan before, or are you forgetting about Neko?" "Woman, just because she's off in school doesn't mean I could ever forget my own daughter!" He roared, making Asere whimper and Eresa reached over to pat her twin on the head to comfort her.or.more than likely, to silence her! Her little pet made a chittering sound and petted it's soft velvety paw across Asere's chubby cheeks. "I was about to say that with these two, due to their awaking powers, it may be harder than rasing a normal saiyan or even part-saiyan. You may need help around the house." "You used to help me around the house," She pouted, "Remember after Neko was born?" "I have things to do now," He wouldn't look her in the eyes, Alaura heart ached that he refused to meet her gaze, "Chi Chi can help you, you should call her. She's very good with things of that sort." "Piccolo?" Alaura's voice was both a plea and a question, she looked at him over the heads of their children, "I'm sorry." Instead of answering, instead of looking at her, at the tears forming in the corners of her eyes which would surely be his downfall, he said; "The twins will need guidance in order to control their powers, which will be great once they are old enough to use them toward any good. I do believe they were born for a special purpose, Alaura." "Of course," She said, feeling suddenly cold, as if she'd just stepped from a warm bath into a freezing shower, "A special purpose." Her soft voice was monotone as she took the children from Piccolo, "Wouldn't Gohan be proud?" As soon as the words left her mouth, she wished she could call them back. But the look on Piccolo's face told her it was too late. But the shadow of hurt which passed across his feature was as great as it was quick and he replied; "Yes, I think he would be," Then he said something which nearly made her drop the girls, "Why don't you take them over to the Son house and let Gohan see that which he has helped create..?" By the Son house, Alaura knew that he was talking about Gohan and Videl's residence, not Goku and Chi Chi's. Videl's stomach was just beginning to bulge in the tell-tale signs of a growing pregnancy. Videl had accepted the other woman's apology about what had happened between Alaura and Gohan and they had become fast friend, in spite of everything which nature would have dictated they becoming bitter rivals. She had heard about the birth of the twins and was always calling and asking when would Alaura bring them by for her to see. But, Alaura had always felt that the situation would be too awkward if Gohan were there so she never brought her girls over. But, now that Piccolo had suggested it.Maybe it was time for Gohan to see them. She nodded and started to walk back with the twins. Asere's little pet scampered along behind, content to run along beside it's chosen bond rather than hitch a ride on someone's shoulder. Alaura had all ready begun to call it Scamper in her head and she was more than a little shocked when Eresa pointed to it and said, in her baby voice; "'Amper! 'Amper!" "That's right, Eresa!" Alaura cried, "Scamper. Good girl!" At the praise her sister was receiving, Asere's face grew red with anger. She glared at her little pet, causing it to cower in mid-flight, and whimper before answering the undeniable call she silently and powerfully sent out to it by leaping up onto Alaura's shoulder where the child could grab it by the tail and yank it down into a fierce hug against her chest. "Mine!" Asere cried, trying to push her twin out her their mother's arms, "'Amper.mine!" Eresa let out a yowl and raised a tiny fist. Before Alaura could do anything, she let it down with all her might upon her twin sister's head, knocking the other baby out of their mother's grip. Both animal and child fell to the ground with a thud. For a moment both mother and child blinked at each other, unsure of what just happened. Eresa saw her twin sister sitting in a mud puddle, her normally powder-puff hair caked with dark wet dirt and a few brown dead leaves and started to cry. Asere, who hadn't uttered a sound after her sister had bonked her and knocked her out of their mother's arms, heard the distress in her twin's cries and joined her wails, much to the distress of their mother. Scamper wobbled out of the mud, shook itself off and licked Eresa's tear and mud streaked face. Alaura snapped out of her stupor and scooped up her fallen daughter. She placed her upon her hip and began to run towards the house. She'd need to give Asere a bath but she knew that she couldn't just give one twin a bath, both would want to take one. She sighed and thought that maybe asking for help wouldn't be such a bad idea after all. ~*~*~ She had just gotten the girls in the tub, bubbles and everything, when the door chimes rang from across the house. She reached up and clicked a button on one of the many speaker systems she'd had installed though-out the hosue after the twins were born, and spoke into it; "Who is it?" "Alaura?" Videl's voice could be heard from the speaker when she released the talk button. Asere and Eresa giggled and splashed about. Scamper curled up on the rug beside the tub and enjoyed the warmth, trying to ignore the random splish-splash of water upon his silky fur as the children played. Alaura handed a rubber ducky to Asere and the girl threw it at her sister, giggling and aiming for her forehead. As she watched, Eresa raised her hands and the toy stopped in mid-flight to hover in the air before being thrown by an unseen force towards the water right in front of Asere. The water came up swiftly and splashed the other girl in the face. Asere screamed and lunged at her sister, dunking her under the water. Alaura asked Videl to hold on while she separated her children with a scolding. "Knock it off, you two!" "Sounds like you have your hands full, Alaura!" Videl said once she'd gotten back on the speaker, "Can I come in to help?" "Please do!" Alaura said, "Just a second while I type in the." Suddenly, Eresa reached beneath the sudsy water with a feral grin on her normally impish face. Asere gave a shriek that made Alaura jump up from the toilet seat where she'd been sitting and bang her head on the suspended hanging cupboards. She fell back and caught herself before she could fall into the bathtub with her children. Tears were streaming down Asere's face, mixed with the soap bubbles and Eresa, having let go of her sister's tail, stuck her tongue out at her. Asere hugged the tip of her wet brown furred tail to her and whimpered. Alaura shook her head at her twins and quickly punched in the access code to the front door on the pad on the wall next to the speaker to let Videl in. "You two have got to stop this!" She hissed as Videl walked in the the bathroom behind her. At the sight of the unfamiliar person, Asere scooted behind her sister and hide, peeking out because she was a curious as that creature that followed her around all the time, and waited to see what would happen next. If their mother motioned that this person with the large belly was a friend, than they wouldn't feel fearful. So, they waited. Alaura embraced Videl quickly and sighed with releaf, "I thought raising Neko was hard! At least she was just one!" "Saiyan twins aren't what you had in mind, are they?" Videl asked, patting her own stomach, "Thank Kami this little one is only one." Alaura nodded as her little ones giggled and splashed each other, all animosity gone, as was the way of children. Eresa was showing Asere a trick she'd taught herself by using her tail to grasp onto the soap- dripping wash rag and scrub her own back. Delighted, her twin tried the same trick and, after a few failed attempts, finally got it right. Asere looked at her twin and they both smiled secret little childlike grins, the kinds that parents think don't mean anything but which children know mean more than they will ever tell. Before either adult knew what hit them, Asere and Eresa jumped up and splashed them as hard as they could, laughing huge screaming laughs as they saw the stunned expressions on the adult women's faces. "Asere!" Alaura cried, moving her soaked hair with her fingers so she could see between the tangled curtain of her blonde hair, "Eresa!" Videl reached down and scooped both slippery twins from the tub and said to Alaura, "Why don't you go and lay down for a while, let me take care of these two." "Oh, I can't ask you to." "Oh, baka!" Videl scoffed, as Asere played with her short dark hair, "It will be good practice!" Alaura smiled and nodded, feeling suddenly drained. Nothing sounded better to her than her bed at the moment. After kissing both her girls on their chubby cheeks, she left them in her friend's care and shuffled, like a creature much too old of her age, towards the bedroom she shared with Piccolo, her mind all ready shutting down in anticipation of sleep. 


	5. Master Roshi's Place

Master Roshi wasn't his usual place, nose inches in front of the television screen, watching his usual aerobics show and practically drooling into his snowy bread over those scantily clad girls. No, this morning he was seated in one of the outside lounge chairs, sipping hot tea and watching the water of the ocean lick the shore, deep in thought. "Master?" Yamcha asked, sweat pouring from his face as he had just ran his fiftieth time around the Roshi's little pink beach house. "Is anything bothering you?" "Bothering me?" He repeated absently, "Hmm, oh, uh, no, Yamcha." He smiled up at the confused-looking man standing there barefoot in the sand, sweating like a stuck pig, "Go wash up. Launch's all ready in the kitchen cooking breakfast." Piccolo's woman's kids.those twins.He thought as Yamcha babbled on in front of him, Such power.I can sense their ki all the way out here.and their power level.amazing!" "Yeah!" He cried, as his stomach growled, "I could smell it all the across the beach! I'm starving!" Yamcha turned to go, but then turned back unexpectedly, "Are you sure nothing's bothering you, Master?" "I told you, I'm fine," He said, "Go eat. Tell Launch I'll be in in just a moment." Yamcha shrugged and left him, entering the house to find Launch, in her good girl form, dark hair tied back with a red kerchief to keep from falling into her face, standing in front of the kitchen table. She was setting places for everyone. Which included himself, herself and Master Roshi. Tien and Chiaotzu used to stay over more often, but since Tien broke it off with Launch and she was dating Yamcha now, it felt too awkward just yet for them to come over as much. "Hey, Sweetie!" She called, as he came to over to hug her, she pulled back, laughing and said; "Ugh! You smell horrible, Yamcha! Don't touch me until you get yourself cleaned up!" "But, I thought you liked strong men who train hard." He teased, kissing her on the cheek. "Your strong all right!" She said, backing away and holding her nose between two dainty fingers, "Whew!" Yamcha laughed and went to take a shower and change his clothes. She would let him touch her later, he knew, and it would be more than just a brief embrace and peck on the cheek, he knew that for sure as well. His stomach growled for attention and he patted it's tightness with one hand; "Don't worry, buddy." ~*~*~ It was in the middle of breakfast that Master Roshi made his announcement. "I'm going to visit Piccolo," He said, "I was to see those girls of his for myself." Launch just smiled vacantly as she nibbled on a piece of toat. Yamcha narrowed his eyes and said; "But, doesn't the World Martial Arts Tournament start next week? How long will you be gone?" "You can train without me, Yamcha," Master Roshi said, "And I'll probably only be gone for a day, Kami willing, so you have nothing to worry about." "But, why do you want to see them?" Launch asked, "Their just a couple of babies, right? Babies are adorable and all, but there's nothing special about them." "Oh, I think their something extremely special about those two." Roshi said, "Else why would their power levels at such a young age be so great that I could feel them clear over here!" "What are they?" Yamcha asked, leaning over his plate of swiftly cooling scrambled eggs, his curiosity aroused. "At least an even fifty for them both." Roshi answered, dabbing at his lips with a napkin, "Although, that's just guessing, without a scouter and looking at them face to face, I can't really be sure of the correct numbers." There is one other person I plan on taking with me, he thought as he continued to eat while Yamcha and Launch talked in low voices, My sister, Baba, told me who the real father of those girls is and it's time he knew them.besides, there must be a way for him and Piccolo to become friends again.it saddens me that.ah, well, I better eat the rest of this breakfast before Launch decides to sneeze and blow the house apart! 


	6. An Unexpected Visit

"Let me come with you, Master!" Yamcha exclaimed as he watched Roshi packing a bag and humming softly to himself. He walked with an old, bent cane, though Yamcha had seen him fight without it so he had no idea why the old man bothered with it. He'd even gone as far as to ask the old Master about it. "None of your business!" He'd practically screamed at the poor warrior-in- training, "I don't go asking you about that annoying flying cat that follows you around everywhere, now do I?!" Hmph! Young people just can't understand what it takes to keep up an image! Master Roshi had thought to himself, Doesn't he know that all old masters walk with canes?! It makes up look.wise and dignified. The fact that he'd then tripped across a sandal Launch had left out in the sand and landed in a most undignified manner did not help things. Yamcha merely shook his head and Paur, who'd begun to glower as soon as Roshi called him (A/N: Is Paur a He or She?! I can never tell.*sigh* guess it'll be a he in this story, then) annoying, laughed when he saw the old man fall on his butt in the sand. Yamcha pulled his thoughts back to the present, though he did smile a bit at the memory of that afternoon, and asked again if he could accompany Roshi on his trip. "I really want to see Piccolo's family!" He cried, "Seems kinda strange, doesn't it?" "Hmm?" Roshi asked, only half-listening, as he shuffled his stack of porno mags for some light reading, "What does?" "That Piccolo, the most solitary one of us," Yamcha said, grinning like Goku, "Should have a live-in girlfriend and three kids!" "Yes," Master Roshi said, "And it's about time I've met them all. If you really want to come along, Yamcha, find some way of losing the cat." Yamcha groaned but knew that he had no choice. Paur would have to stay home this time, though he hated to break it to the little guy.Oh, well, what must be done must be done. He left to go break the news to the shapechanger. "Now, were did I stash that." Roshi spoke to himself, hardly seeming aware that Yamcha had left him, he looked under his bed and exclaimed, "Aha! Here it is!" He pulled out one the saiyan scouters Bulma had tweaked for him a few years ago. He fixed the band about his ear and looked through the tinted glass. Looking at his own reflection in the mirror he watched the numbers begin to rise until they stopped at a steady three digit number. His own power level. The scouter thus tested and seemingly working fine, he took it off and stuffed it into his suitcase, he'd need it later, he was sure. After snapping the lid shut, Master Roshi walked out into the living room. It had been three days since he'd first made his announcement at the breakfast table. Now, dressed for travel in a slightly wrinkled suit and tie, his turtle-shell back hanging on a nail in his closet for once, he looked around at the sea of faces all smiling and wishing him a safe journey. Chi Chi and Goku were there, along with their younger son Goten, who was of middle school age now, and his little friend, Bulma and Vegeta's son; Trunks, Bulma was there alone. She had said that her husband had said he'd had more important things to do but sent his regards. Roshi knew she was lying about the regards. She was just trying to make Vegeta look better. They saw him to the airport all waving and yelling expressions for his safe return. He chuckled as he boarded the plane, having groped Bulma's breasts for the thousandth time since he'd known her when she'd hugged him good- bye. Chi Chi was smart enough to stay back and smile a polite goodbye before he turned to walk away. "Now, let me see." He said after he'd sat down and buckled in, "This plane should take me to where Gohan and Videl are staying.after that I'll have to take another flight to Piccolo's." "Excuse me, sir?" He looked up to see the most beautiful pair of large, round breasts directly eye-level with him. The sight sent him into pervert- mode.well, honestly, did he have any other mode? "Sir?" Practically drooling, reaching wrinkled old hands, fingers curled into claws towards the bouncing bosom of the flight attendant, he forced himself to sit still while she bounced.eer.talked. "Yes?" "Would you like some peanuts.?" "Peanuts?" He asked, absently, then looking right into the young woman's face, asked; "Do you have any melons?" "M-melons?" She asked, her pretty head tilted in confusion, "I could ask the cook if we have any fruit, sir, would that suffice?" Roshi shook his head and motioned for her to leave him alone. Pretty thing, but not too bright.hehehe.that's the way I like 'em! Melons, indeed!  
  
~*~*~ Gohan and his wife Videl were just sitting down to dinner. She had taken the time, and the extra energy, (being four months pregnant can really sap your strength!), to cook his favorite meal. After she'd told him that she was pregnant he'd seemed so genuinely happy and surprised, almost awed, as if he couldn't believe that he'd actually contributed in some way to her pregnancy. But, she knew that was silly. After all, he'd helped Piccolo and Alaura... Her thoughts came to a halt. Whenever she thought about the bright, vivacious young woman Gohan had helped Piccolo and Alaura create, his firstborn daughter to be exact; Neko, her mind always drifted to that night she, Android 18 and Krillin were just arriving back at their place for a drink and maybe watch a movie before she went home to call him, (because he'd been heavily on her mind all night), and had caught him in bed.well, truthfully, in 18 and Krillin's bed, together! Oh, they had worked things out and had pretty much what used to be known as a whirlwind courtship, Gohan doing everything he could possibly do short of tar and feathering himself and walking naked down first avenune with a sign reading "I'm Sorry, Videl! I Love You! Please Don't Kill Me!" to let her know that he'd made a huge mistake and that she was the only one for him. In the end, she had followed her heart and not her mind, and they had eloped one night. Soon after, she found out she was pregnant. She hoped this child would make their little family whole and fill the gap that seemed to be building between her and Gohan lately. One of the reasons she'd taken the time and effort to cook his favorite meal was to get him back to his happy, carefree, yet responsible self. His frowns had started to replace his smiles and he touched her less and less these days. She missed that. The phone rang suddenly in the other room and she started to get up from her chair to answer it. He was quicker. He always had been, but her current condition tended to hinder her movements and make her feel lethargic. She heard the click of the phone as he lifted it from the receiver and ended it's ringing. "Hello?" She heard his voice from the hallway where the phone was located on a little fancy pedestal she'd found in a thrift store one day and had taken the time to paint it a nice mauve color to match the rest of thier mauve and gray-blue decorated little house. She listened without really meaning to, as she picked at the food on her plate with her chopsticks, the one-sided conversation. "Master Roshi?!" Gohan cried, shock in his voice, raising the pitch a bit higher than normal, Videl's food slipped from her chopsticks, "What? You're here?! How can you be here.the airport? Oh, umm.just eating dinner, no biggie." Videl's throat tightened at his words and she suddenly lost her appetite, she'd worked so hard on this meal! But, Master Roshi?! In town? Wasn't there a tournament coming up soon? Could he really afford to travel so close to the deadline.? "What? Yamcha's with you?!" He cried, eyebrows rising into his hairline, "You left Paur at home?!" He laughed, "Poor thing.I bet he doesn't know what to do without Yamcha there! Sure, no problem.be right there!" He hung up the phone and returned to Videl, who sat with an expectant expression on her pretty face. He didn't waste time. After a few more hurried bites he said though the food in his mouth before he washed it all down with the glass of water she'd provided; "Master Roshi and Yamcha are here. At the airport, I mean. They asked me to come pick them up. They said they have to speak with me.with us, I mean." "Oh." She said, wondering what was going on, he leaned over and kissed her cheek, "Drive safe." "Don't worry, Videl," He said in the doorway as he pulled on his jacket, "It's me your talking to, remember, not my Dad! I'll be back soon..Oh!" He paused before he walked out the opened door, smiling at her much like his father, oddly enough, "The food was great, honey, absolutely wonderful. Love ya!" She smiled, her cheeks across the bridge of her nose flushing slightly with pleasure. She stood up and began to clear the dishes. ~*~*~ Slipping behind the wheel of the flashy little sports car Krillin and 18 had given him a few years ago, before he'd met Videl, when he'd just began college and had taken up his secret identity to use his saiyan strength and powers to help others without being recognized and bothered in his off-duty hours. Krillin had thought that his friend could use a girlfriend at the time and he'd said the little red car was a chick magnet, he thought about Videl and how she was the best chick to ever ride shotgun beside him! But now, he thought, with the baby coming, he knew he should trade it in for something a bit more safe and reliable, Not that Videl hadn't been bugging him off and on all through their relationship to get rid of what she called a death- trap on wheels. He wondered, as he drove, what had brought the Turtle Hermit and his old friend, Yamcha, to town to see them. It couldn't be trouble for the Z gang, he knew, he would have felt something first. Besides, Roshi's voice hadn't sounded exactly troubled. It hadn't sounded content either, though, he thought as he drove towards the airport. It had started to rain and he reached down to switch on the windshield wipers. It took about forty-five minutes or so to reach the airport. He saw Master Roshi and Yamcha standing in the terminal waving and yelling towards him like mad. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Gohan broke out; "But, why are you here? What's going on?" They ran the car, none of them minded a little water, but at the same time, if they could avoid it, they preferred not to get rained on. Roshi answered him after his luggage was safely secured in the trunk along with Yamcha's. "I need to speak with you and Videl. Well, mostly with you, Gohan." "Why? What's up?" "It concerns.Piccolo and Alaura's twins," Master Roshi said, Gohan and Yamcha both noticed his slight pause before he'd said the namek and his human female companion's name. "But, first, let's get back to your place. I need a shower and a change of clothes and good nap!" "I need a drink!" Yamcha yawned, "Then a nap.a long one!" Gohan didn't reply. He couldn't. After hearing Alaura's name and the mention of the children he knew were rightfully his, from his very own seed, yet he could never claim them as his own, a fact that tore at his heart, he'd failed to hear anything else they'd said afterwards. He hadn't gone to see either Alaura or his children. Though he missed his old mentor, Piccolo, very much, missed the quiet talks they used to have, the useful, simple advice the namek was always so good at giving whenever he had a problem he needed a little help with. He had been afraid to go visit them lest Piccolo's anger had not yet subsided..he had no desire to be offed by one of Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon ki blast attacks! But, if his kids were in some kind of trouble.regardless of who they call 'Dad', they were still his blood, he'd do anything he could keep them safe! Even if that meant risking a run-in with his old teacher! But, first things first, he thought as he drove in the rain, Roshi dozing in the seat beside him and Yamcha watching the scenery go by, These two looked bushed! I hope Videl saved some of that food.They must be starving after that airplane food.yeck! 


	7. Neko's Home and Another Phone Call

"I can't believe how much they've grown, Mom!" Neko exclaimed in a whisper as she looked down at the sleeping twins in their crib, Scamper curled up next to Eresa for once instead of Asere and Asere had a baby bottle filled with water in her little hands under her chin. "I've only been gone for a few month and it seems like they've grown leaps and bounds since then! I hardly recognize them!" Alaura laughed, happy to have her firstborn home with her after she'd been away at school. Even for a few months it had seemed so long. Neko hadn't taken off her black suede jacket yet and her tote bag with the name of her school was still slung over one shoulder. She had cut her hair short in a style much like that of Videl's and Alaura thought the new look tamed her wild ends somewhat and made her dark eyes even more large and beautiful. "Oh, Mom!" Neko whispered, turning and wrapping her arm about her mother's shoulder, leading her out of the room, "I'm so happy to be home!" "Where's my daughter?" They heard a strong, masculine voice boom from the front room, "I could sense her ki the moment she arrived. I know I didn't bring her up to be rude and forget to greet her elders at once when she arrives at their home.?!" A wide smile spead across Neko's face as she let go of Alaura and sprinted across the room with such speed that only one of true saiyan ancestry could have accomplished. "Father!" She cried, (having long ago given up the childlike way of address Piccolo as 'Da') She jumped up into his arms and he held her as any proud parent would a child they loved beyond all the joys and pains of the world, "I've so missed you!" "You stay away at that fancy school for much too long, Little One," Piccolo growled, trying to hide his emotions as he stroked this grown daughter's short locks, her arms tight about his waist as she hugged him in childlike rapture, "What does some building with old bookworms have to teach you that I cannot? What can you really learn that will be useful to you in the real world?" Neko pulled away and looked up into Piccolo's dark eyes, so deep against his emerald skin, "You are still angry with me for not completing my martial arts training with you after we came back from Jalamir, aren't you?" Piccolo didn't answer. The look in his eyes was enough. "Father, you know that I value you and what you have taught me above all else!" Neko cried, "But, I have to be realistic, I'm strong and fast but there will always be someone stronger, faster." "Only if you let them be." "That's just it!" She cried, "I don't care what they do! I want to live my own life, be what I want to be! I want to make it in the real world, as you called it, and I can't do that by being a karate bum all my life!" "You sound like Chi Chi." "Well, maybe you should listen to her for once," She said, "She makes a good deal of sense, you know." "Stop it, you two!" Alaura practically yelled, she didn't though, she didn't want to wake the twins, "Every time Neko comes home from school you two argue about the same thing! Now, I've had enough of it! This family is going to get along, or else!" Neko started to laugh at her mother's words but one look into Alaura's blue eyes shut her mouth. She said; "I need to go unpack," Instead and left them to go to the bedroom that she would always be reserved for her no matter how far away or for how long she was gone. Piccolo looked at Alaura after Neko had gone and raised an eyeridge at her. Alaura opened her mouth to speak but Piccolo spoke instead. "Gohan!" He exclaimed out the blue and Alaura felt her throat and stomach tighten. Piccolo noticed and quickly finished, "No, you don't understand, I feel he is near. Very near." Just then, the phone rang and Alaura walked over to pick it up. Before did, the large namekian knew all ready who would be on the other end. "Hello?" She greeted and waited. "Alaura?" Videl's voice was breathy as usual on the other end, she sounded like she was in a phone booth somewhere, "Can you hear me?" "Sure, just speak up," Alaura said, "What is it? Where are you?" "At the airport with Gohan, Master Roshi and Yamcha," She explained, and told her briefly about the visit from Roshi and Yamcha seemingly out of the blue and how they had only stayed for two nights before practically demanding herself and Gohan to come with them to visit Piccolo and his family. "We're at the airport. Can you come pick us up?" Alaura nodded and then realized that the other woman couldn't see her head- shake and said; "Um, sure.yes." She felt numb all over save for the two words that kept playing over and over in her head and she had no idea how to stop them. Gohan's here! Piccolo turned from the phone and his wife and disappeared from normal sight. In the front of his mind he kept remembering how his former student had betrayed him, but in the back of his mind he thought about how much he'd missed him and also the fact that he wouldn't have the twins, whom he loved as if they had come from his own blood, if it hadn't been for that betrayal. He wondered, as he appeared next to a flowing waterfall near the center of the forest which surrounded their home, a place he often came for solitude and relaxation, if Gohan's arrival so unexpectedly meant that he had come to the decision that he wanted to claim the girls as his own and take them away with him and Videl.. He shook his head at such a notion! Even if that had been Gohan's plan, he would have to get through his old teacher first. Piccolo wasn't about to relinquish his little daughters to anyone without a fight! But, he was getting ahead of himself. Maybe he had really just come to say he was sorry. To apologize for what he'd done with Alaura.... But, why then would the old turtle master and that upstart braggart Yamcha be with him? Piccolo asked himself, This makes no sense. I'll just meditate for awhile and get my thoughts straight in my head, He thought, as he folded his legs under himself and settled in a common meditation pose floating in the air, Before I go back and asses the situation further. 


	8. Father and Daughter Talks

Neko watched Piccolo leave and her mother turn from the phone. She'd heard, with her keen saiyan hearing, the voice on the other end of the phone and much of the conversation. She wondered what in the world would bring the old turtle hermit and that weirdo Yamcha to town. Both of whom had always made her very uncomfortable, what with the old man always leering after her and trying to grope her after she'd started to develop and Yamcha with his horrible pick-up lines that wouldn't work on anyone! She'd never told anyone how uncomfortable she'd felt during the times as a child when she went to stay at 'Uncle Gohan's' and they went to visit Roshi and Yamcha and the gang were there. She'd been too embarrassed to say anything about Roshi's inappropriate staring and Yamcha's "accidental" fondling to her parents, otherwise both men would not have been long for this world.. However, after Piccolo began training her, she had sent Yamcha flying into a wall once after another one of his roamin' hands routines after she'd turned sixteen. He hadn't really bothered her much after that. Master Roshi still continued his gazing, but since he was so old and revered she didn't feel right about hitting him, which is what she longed to do. Oh, eck! She thought, hugging herself, Do I actually have to put up with them in my own house on one of my only weeks off?! Her thoughts moved of their own accord towards Piccolo, the one person in all the world she trusted and loved as her father, even though in all reality, that title should have gone to Gohan, the one she calls her Uncle. She knew something in the phone call they had just received troubled him. She thought she knew what. She sighed heavily as she heard her mother's car start, having no time to call a cab, which is the way she preferred to travel when out and about, rather than having to drive herself, and pull away. She closed her eyes and began to silently search. Piccolo's life energy was strong, and very different than those others around him. Humans were much weaker and of a lower scale than the impressive namek and the other creatures, mindless four-legged ones and winged ones as well as insects were too small to actually focus on without a lot of trouble and a possible massive headache. Once she'd found it and him, she paused to take one last look at the sleeping twins, shrugged and thought that they'd be fine for a few minutes, (Scamper woke and gave her a puzzled look before settling back to sleep), and slipped out the front door. She let her ki fill herself up and concentrated on lifting herself up off of the ground. She hadn't flown in a long time. She was almost afraid she'd forgotten how. But, as she soon discovered, it was much like riding a bike. She just had to do it. She floated upwards, scanning the trees, looking for.. Ah! She found it! A slight opening between the trees, she could see where the clearing was that she wanted to be and dove downwards towards it. Piccolo opened one eye and looked up just in time to see his daughter flying headlong towards him. He jumped up and had just decided to wait for her to land in front of him when she screamed something about "No brakes! No brakes! Watch out!" and crash-landed right into him, knocking them both to the ground in a very ungraceful tangle of human and namek limbs. After untangling himself from her and standing up, brushing off his gi and looking down at her from narrowed eyes, he asked; "Neko, what.?" "Sorry, Father!" She cried, blushing and wiping dirt off of her pants, "I guess I sorta forgot how to stop once I got going.heh." "See what happens when you leave off your training!" "Please don't start." "Well, I'm not the one who's running into thing!" "Father, please," Neko began, not wanting to start on this same argument..again. "I came to you to find out why you left so suddenly." "I always leave suddenly," He said, not looking at her, "Why should that make you inquisitive?" "Not the way you left, the why," She said, sitting down on a boulder facing the rushing water of the stream and the waterfall, "And I though you and Mom had worked things out." "We have," He said, "And I needed to meditate. I like being alone, or have you forgotten that about me in that big fancy school of yours?" Neko turned to face him, but instead of anger across her face, her dark brows were drawn with worry and sadness, "Don't try to turn this around on me! You were never good at games like that.Something is troubling you, I can feel it. It has something to do with Gohan, right?" At the sound of the name, Piccolo stiffened and crossed his arms over his chest in his usual I'm-a-powerful-namekian-and-I-don't-have-the-same-cares- and-concerns-as-you stance, his eyes turned to avoid looking into his adopted daughter's. "I never really thought of how difficult it must have been," She began, speaking softly, a slight breeze wisping the hairs about her forehead, "For you to raise me as your own, knowing all the while that I wasn't honestly yours." "Don't ever think that, Neko!" He roared, "I was the one who raised you, I was the one who trained you! Your not his daughter, your mine! Neko, mine!"  
  
"I know, Father," She said, smiling with pride, "And I'd rather have no one else as my father, adopted or otherwise." "I'm just." He said, and then looked away before the words could slip past his lips.but she had caught the words none-the-less in the pregnant steam of conscience that moved between them as father and daughter. She stood up and walked over to him, embracing him gently, she whispered, "Don't be afraid. I'll never stop being your daughter.the twins either." "You mean a great deal to me, Neko," He said as he released her and looked down into her eyes, "And I am proud of who you've grown up into, and, although it kills me to admit it, maybe going away to school was the best thing for you after all." "I'm glad to hear you finally say so!" She said, "Now, what's the deal with you and Mom? I thought that after that one big fight you guys had that you had worked things out." He moved away from her a few steps before replying, "We did work it out. I am staying with her just as long as the twins need me. It's not their fault they were the result of a one-night stand." "And after they no longer need you?" She asked, fearing the answer. She hated to think of her Mother and Piccolo separated. Such a thought made it hard for her to even think straight! He didn't answer. Before she could prompt him further, suddenly they heard and felt a very large explosion. Neko screamed and fell backwards at the unexpectedness of the ground shaking and the sound of the nearby explosion. "The girls.!" "Your mother didn't take them with her.?" He began, then felt their ki, strong for infants, "Damn it! She didn't!" Neko looked up to see him taking off in the direction of the house. She hoped her little sisters were okay. But, what was that?! She asked herself as she started to run back down through the slightly hilly forest toward her parents' house in Piccolo's wake. 


	9. At The Airport

"Are you sure you called her?" Yamcha asked, for the fifteenth time, hopping from one leg to the other in obvious distress, "How soon is she gonna be here.?" "You have time for a bathroom run, Yamcha," Roshi said, shaking his head, "I thought I told you to go before we left.And where'd Gohan run off to.?" Yamcha looked around, "I thought I saw him run off towards the refreshments." "He's probably in the john," Roshi said, "Hurry up and go! Then go find him and tell him to get his butt back here!" "I didn't have to go then," Yamcha said, and looked around for a restroom. Spotting one he runs off towards it, leaving the old master alone to wait for Alaura to come pick them up. He pulled their luggage off of the carousal and sat down on his own, Yamcha's sitting next to him making a good footrest. "Something really should be done about that boy." "Ummm.excuse me, sir?" Roshi looked up to see a grinning gap-toothed boy of about nine standing in front of him, "Aren't you Jackie Chun from the last World Martial Arts Tournament.?" Roshi looked around to make sure no one heard him before turning back to the kid. "No," He said, "I think you have me confused with." "Oh, come on!" The kid practically yelled, "Don't be modest! You kicked ass! Can I have your autograph!?" Before Roshi could do or say anything otherwise the kid wiped out a sheet of paper from seemingly nowhere and shoved it into Roshi's face. He sighed and took the pen offered to him by a woman standing near waiting for her bags, leaning over to sign an autograph to the kid's paper. "Wow!" The kid seemed honestly awed by his scrawled name on the sheet of paper, Roshi flushed and then became proud of himself, he drew himself up and opened his mouth and started to explain that what he does might seem cool and fun that in reality, was a lot of hard work that not many people have the endurance for.. When the kid interrupted him with; "You can really kick ass Mr. Chun, but you sure do talk way too much! My Mom's calling! I gotta go, thanks!" The kid ran off, disappearing quickly into the throng of people. I didn't hear anyone calling him.? Roshi thought just as Yamcha reappeared, seemingly more at ease. He spotted a pretty well-endowed blonde before Roshi could and winked at her. He slipped away again to see if he could coax a number from her.or if not from her, maybe from her sister.well, if she was hot. "Yamcha!" Roshi yelled, making the other man jump and rush back after apologizing to the blonde, who just looked confused and more than a bit dazed. Yamcha guessed her anti-nausia medication hadn't quite worn off yet.that or she'd had more than her share of little wine during the flight. "What are you doing?! We're suppose to be waiting for our ride!" I know! Yamcha thought, eyeing the blonde's butt as it bounced as she walked, And you just made me miss mine. Aloud he said; "Sorry, Master, I guess I got.distracted." "Look!" Master Roshi yelled, jumping up and pointing, "There she is! Alaura! Alaura! Over here!" The still incredibly beautiful white-blonde woman in her late thirties smiled warmly when she saw them and made a beeline through the crowd towards them. "Wow!" Yamcha said, before she was close enough to hear, "She looks even better now than she did when I last saw her.don't you think, Roshi?" "Hmm!" Roshi nodded, eyeing Alaura's breasts through her blouse, which moved as she walked, "She sure could give Bulma a run for her money!" "How are you two?!" Alaura asked as she came upon them, hugging Yamcha, not seeming to care that about his hand straying to her butt for a moment so beif as to not even be noticeable before bending down to embrace the older man and kiss him chastely on the cheek. However, Roshi, at the last moment, turned his head and tried to stick his tongue down her throat. "Stop that, you silly old goat!" Alaura laughed, pulling away, "Always up to your same old tricks, I see." "Well, you can't blame a man for trying, Sweetstuff." Roshi said, by way of apologizing, "Besides, there's a more important reason for this visit. Yamcha? Did you find Gohan?" Suddenly, Gohan appeared, walking up, eating a very overpriced corndog and a bag of fries. "Gohan." Alaura said, trying to will her voice to be calm, still, the complete opposite of her insides, which were shaking like a bowl of jello, "How are you?" "A-Alaura!" He said, between a french fry and a bite of corndog, he chewed, swallowed and began again, "You.you look good." "So, do you." "I heard you had twins," Gohan said, fidgeting, "Sorry I haven't.  
  
"Oh, it's okay," Alaura said, "It would have been awkward, you know.what with.well.." "Yeah." "Do you." Alaura began, unsure of where to start or why she was even asking, or felt the need to ask, "Want to.umm.meet them?" "Oh! Umm.well." Gohan said, seemingly taken aback, "Sure! I mean, they are my kids, right?" Alaura quieted for a moment at those words. "No, Gohan," She corrected him, "They aren't your kids. They're mine and Piccolo's. Keep that straight. Come on. Let's go. I left the car running." 


	10. Missing!

A/N: Okay, folks, sorry this story being one big block.if it looks like that then I don't know what to tell ya.I have tried to re upload it several times with no luck. If you want to read this story without having to squent go to www.mediaminer.org and look under the undername 'Skayda' there you will find it, as well as my other work, under the title "The Piccolo and Alaura Saga, Episode Four: Children of the Dawn". Also, the italics and bolds I put in show up on mm.org as they don't in ff.net and, of course, it's spaced properly. ( ~Ami They rode back to the house in relative silence, Yamcha and Gohan sat in the back to give the front seat to the elderly out of respect for his age and everyone pretty much kept his or her own counsel. Alaura silently cursed the rain which had begun to fall soon after she left and the fear she felt in her gut at the realization that the father of all three of her children sat only a few inches from her in the back seat of her car. Gohan looked out the window at the passing scenery and thought that it probably would much faster if he just flew and carried them all back to Piccolo and Alaura's.but he knew that wouldn't be appropriate to suggest. Not to mention what Piccolo would do to him if he showed up carrying his woman in his arms.No, Gohan did not want to dwell on that particular train of thought. Still, He thought as he turned to stare at the back of her golden-blonde haired head, so unlike his own Videl's midnight locks, I have to admit, I've been thinking about her a lot.and little Neko.wait, He corrected himself, Neko's not little anymore, hasn't been for quite sometime. Kami, how I've missed that imp! I wonder what she's up to now. Gohan looks like he's relaxing more, Master Roshi observed from the rearview mirror out of the corner of his eye, although he hadn't bothered to remove his shades, That's good. If what I suspect is true about those little girls of his everyone needs to be comfortable with each other. That means old grudges must be laid to rest.Roshi's eyes drifted over towards Alaura, downward towards her blouse where it's elastic neckline had be slowly drifting off one shoulder, nearly exposing one of her.She has almost as terrific boobs as Bulma. Kam! Master Roshi's practically taking advantage of her! Yamcha narrowed his eyes at the sense taking place in the front seat, Geez, Old Man, put a cork in it, would ya! Ya make the rest of us look bad.hey, I wonder how that Neko chick's doing.she was looking hot the last time I saw her. I hope we arrive home soon, Alaura thought as she noticed how Gohan was smiling at her front behind and the other two were pretty much ogling her straight out, She fidgeted in her seat and hoped none of the noticed, Not soon enough. "Alaura," Gohan began, because he began to notice her energy seemed to.fade in and out, like she was nervous and trying to hide it or something, "Tell me, what has Neko been up to lately? Is she entering the tournament?" "No," Alaura said after a slight pause, "Piccolo wanted her to, but she had other.responsibilities. She goes to college now and gets nearly straight A's. We're very proud of her." Straight A's! Gohan thought, nearly beaming, Wow! She gets that from me, I just know it! I can't believe it, Neko's in college now! Wow! "Is she.in school now?" He asked, warming to the topic, "What's her major.?" "No, she's home visiting for a week," Alaura said, remembering all the fun they used to have when 'Uncle Gohan' had been a part of their lives, she knew Neko missed him as well, "Something about a teacher's conference. She wants to be a doctor of some sort.to care for children." "She would be good with kids," Gohan mussed, "Maybe she can come over and help Videl after we have ours!" Alaura grew silent. Her mood seemed to darken like the skies outside the car. The swishing of the windshield wipers the only sound for a few moments. Finally, she said, in a low voice, "You have other children who need you, Gohan." "Yes, I was just.I mean I was only.." Gohan started as Yamcha leaned forward in interest and Master Roshi seemed sink lower in his chair. I knew I should have told him, He thought, fearing the storm brewing within the car more than the one outside of it, How could I be so foolish.? "You know what I'm talking about, Gohan." Alaura said, twisting the wheel hard to avoid a stray cat and nearly sliding off the road, the rain beat down like mad, "Don't bother to play stupid..that only works with your father." "I swear! I have no idea what your talking about, Alaura!" Gohan asked as he held onto the side of the back door handle to keep from sliding into Yamcha, who had ahold of his'. "If you don't want to talk to now, at least wait until we're alone to tell me what's on your mind." Alaura didn't reply. She was busy navigating through the treacherous dirt paths she rarely used which lead up to her house and grounds. One false move would leave them in a ditch or worse, slammed into a tree, not that she had any doubt that Gohan would be able to save them all from certain death, but still, better to be safe than sorry. She felt something odd almost at once, like something was out of place, but she could quite discover it. Gohan cried out from the backseat, having felt that which Alaura had no name for. All he could feel was pain and a cry for help, echoing over and over in his head... In Piccolo's voice! "Something's happened!" Gohan cried, "Alaura! Your house! Look!" She did and caught the scream in her throat, all she could think about were her children. The children she'd left in Piccolo and her daughter's care! If Neko couldn't handle them, she was certain that Piccolo would have no trouble.But, now flames engulfed her house, billowing smoke joined the dark grayness of the clouds pouring out rain onto the house as if the heaven's were offended by such destruction and wished to end it. "No!" She finally got out, slammed her foot on the brake too hard and sent the car into a spin, "No!" Finally getting the vehicle under control she barely had it stopped before she shoved open the door and stumbled out. She began to run, as if death were licking hot flames upon her heels, losing her shoes in the muddied ground, she tripped once, got up and continued, her white blouse muddied and wet, sticking to her and she face filled with a kind of terror no mother should ever have to experience. "Alaura!" Gohan opened his door and got out, he took to the air and landed in front of her, "Wait! You can't go in there! You'll die! Alaura, stop!" "Get out of my way, Gohan!" Alaura coughed, shoving a hank of wet tangled hair from her eyes which seemed more the color of cold, sharp ice right now, "I have to save them! Gohan, please! Help me! Go save my childen! Your children!" Gohan! He turned from Alaura as his old teacher's voice filled his head once more, the old connection they had always shared seemed back as thought it had never been severed.perhaps it really never had been, Tell Alaura the twins are not in the house! Kami! Please help! I.I can't find them! I can't find. "Piccolo!" Alaura heard the mental communication which had passed between Piccolo and Gohan, being close to both, and a cold, dark had seemed to grasp her heart in it's grip and close ever tighter into a fist of utter fear. "What does he mean," She asked, her eyes wide with terror, she grabbed Gohan's shirt front and yanked him towards her livid face "He can't find them?! What does he mean?!" "I don't know!" Gohan said, disentangling himself from the frantic woman's grip, "I'll go find out! Stay here!" He took off to the air and Alaura was left there to fume and worry in the rain. She barely heard her eldest come up to her and wrap her arms about her shoulders. Her arms, almost of their own accord, snaked about her daughter's waist as she bent her head into her gown-up child's shoulder. "What happened?" She cried, "I wasn't gone that long! What happened?" "I don't know, Mom." Neko cried, "I was just talking with Father and the girls were at the house fast asleep.I swear I only left them for a few minutes.I swear I." Alaura pushed her away and looked at her through cold, cold eyes. Eyes Neko had never seen herself reflected out of from her mother's point of view. It terrified her to her core. "You.left.them.alone?" Alaura's words came out very clear, very hard, Neko backed up and all but whimpered. For all the training in physical defense tactics she'd been through, all it took was a certain look or tone of voice from her mother to turn her into a quivering bowl of jello. "I'm sorry!" She cried, "I didn't mean to! Mom.please.I." Alaura saw herself through her daughter's eyes and hated what she saw. She fell to her knees in shame, clutching at Neko's legs, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Neko.darling..I'm so sorry.I'm so sorry.I would never blame you for anything..Never." Neko lowered herself to her mother's level on the ground and embraced her, the tears falling from her our dark eyes blending with her mother's as they pressed their faces, cheek to cheek, and wept, the rain washing both sets of tears away as the daughter forgave the mother for only reacting with her fear. 


	11. Just An Author's Note But Please Read!

Sorry, this is not an update to the story.rather.  
  
I am going to plug a fellow writer here for a moment. Her name is Vicky Baker and she is where Ryven came from originally. Her work is some of the greatest Piccolo-related writing I have ever had the pleasure of reading and she needs more readers and reviews of her work. She doesn't have a ff.net account, but she just got one on www.mediaminer.org Please, if you love me, and I know you do.go read her stuff and leave a review, too!  
  
Her stuff on mm.org can be found by following this link:  
  
http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/src.php?auth=66758  
  
She goes by the handle; "Ryven Sorane."  
  
I will be updating soon, though, so don't worry!  
  
~Ami 


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